Cookery classes to be compulsory

As part of the Government’s strategy to tackle obesity, pupils will learn to cook for an hour a week for one term.

Cookery is currently an optional part of the design and technology curriculum, and is therefore not taught in all schools.  The Department for Children, Schools and Families wants schools who currently offer cookery in some form to implement the change immediately, and the rest by 2011.

Critics have expressed concerns about the practicalities of the idea, including the lack of qualified food technology teachers.